There is an interesting contradiction going on in Google’s AI business.
The company tells businesses that its AI tools can make hiring faster by going through large numbers of resumes and finding the best candidates. But inside Google itself, one of its AI teams appears to be taking a different approach.
Google DeepMind’s AGI Safety and Alignment team, which works on reducing the risks linked to advanced AI, has been asking people applying for its open jobs to fill out an extra form along with their regular application.
The goal, per an internal document Bloomberg reviewed, is to keep candidates from getting screened out by mistake by Google’s own automated systems.
“We have an applications system with a non-trivial probability your CV will be screened out incorrectly or take too long to reach us,” the document states. “Filling out this form makes sure that a real human on the team will get to see your application,” the document reads.
Google DeepMind, however, disagreed with the suggestion that its systems wrongly reject candidates.
A spokesperson told Bloomberg that the company wants to “recruit and hire the most qualified talent at Google DeepMind” and denied that its systems incorrectly filter out applicants.
The team wants a human to see the applications
The document was quite direct about why the extra form was needed. “We have an applications system with a non-trivial probability your CV will be screened out incorrectly or take too long to reach us,” it said.
The document then explained why applicants should fill out the additional form. “Filling out this form makes sure that a real human on the team will get to see your application.”
The spokesperson said the extra form was created so candidates could send their resumes directly to people on the team instead of going through the usual recruiter review.
“This team set up a special form to go past the recruiter review and get their resumes directly to the people on the team. But there are no shortcuts to getting hired,” the spokesperson told Bloomberg.
AI is already changing the way companies hire
The situation at Google DeepMind shows a much bigger change happening across the job market. Nowadays, more and more companies are using AI to deal with large numbers of applications. Some use AI systems to rank candidates, while others use software to scan resumes for specific words or skills.
The growing use of AI has also raised concerns among HR workers, with some wondering whether parts of their own jobs could eventually be replaced by the technology.
Google itself promotes AI tools as a way for businesses to reduce the amount of time HR teams spend on hiring.
Google’s Workspace team, which sells products such as Google Drive to businesses, markets its AI features as a way to “save HR time by quickly creating drafts for job postings, evaluating resumes, and forecasting hiring needs.”
But there is no single way companies use AI in hiring. Some systems may rank applicants, while others simply look for certain keywords in resumes before passing applications further down the process.
Job seekers are using AI too
The use of AI in hiring is not limited to companies.
Job seekers are also using AI to improve their chances of getting hired. Some are using it to try to get around automated filters, while others are using AI to create applications much faster and apply for more jobs.
Google DeepMind’s AGI Safety and Alignment team appears to have been aware of this problem too. The additional form reportedly advised candidates not to rely on AI when answering questions.
“A real human will read these. These humans get really tired of reading LLM answers, because they all sound very same,” the document said according to Bloomberg.
This creates a unique situation in the job market. Companies use AI to handle high volumes of applications, while job seekers leverage AI to produce applications more quickly. At Google DeepMind, a team studying AI’s future suggests that applicants should aim to have their application seen by a real human to improve their chances of consideration.